Sorority begins new club year
The Laureate Delta Phi Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi met recently at the home of Linda DeRosia for beginning day. Initial planning for the 2003-04 year was conducted. A special surprise was a ham dinner served by the hostess prior to the meeting.

Neighbors: News, notes from the Beaches ...
It took 25,000 milk jugs to produce the new children's playground equipment at the St. Augustine Beach Pier Park, according to Dan Weimer, director of St. Johns County Recreation and Parks.

Column of the Day: Fashion and Style
Q: Our family will be attending a very fancy wedding in Virginia in October. I am looking for a well-tailored suit for my 11-year-old son. The boys' suits we've tried look cheap, and my son says are most uncomfortable. Where can I look for a top-quality suit?

Keeping You in Stitches®:
Nothing like a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico to help me appreciate St. Augus tine. There is a lot of poverty down there, and as we rode around the island in a jeep, it was obvious. We left Fort Lauderdale and boarded the Royal Caribbean, Enchantment

Dr. Donohue: Chickenpox in early life may lead to shingles later
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am an 83-year-old woman. I am just beginning to recover from shingles that started four months ago. A doctor told me it is possible to have shingles more than once. Please confirm the possibility. Is there a vaccine to prevent this? -- L.L.

Putin steps up ahead of summit with Bush
MOSCOW -- America's failure to stabilize Iraq has left Russian President Vladimir Putin convinced he was right: The war was a bad idea. That conviction has boosted Putin's confidence, and at their summit this week, President Bush will encounter a man willing to challenge America on Iraq, Iran and even the war on terrorism.

NASA's Galileo ends 14-year mission
PASADENA, Calif. -- In a dramatic finale to its 14-year journey, NASA's stalwart Galileo spacecraft headed for the conclusion of its $1.5 billion exploration of Jupiter on Sunday in a fiery plunge into the stormy atmosphere of the solar system's largest planet.

Water, power still the big needs in aftermath of Isabel
HAMPTON, Va. -- Utility crews had restored power Sunday to more than two-thirds of the people who had been without since Hurricane Isabel struck, but isolated price gouging and a general lack of information were starting to wear down residents in the hardest-hit areas.

Carol Moseley Braun announces her candidacy for president
WASHINGTON -- Democrat Carol Moseley Braun, who made history as the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, formally launched her long-shot bid for the presidency Monday, vowing to "fix the mess" created by the current leadership.

Former Citigroup CEO John S. Reed to temporarily head the NYSE
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange chose former Citigroup chairman and CEO John S. Reed as its interim leader Sunday for a salary of $1, less than a week after its previous chairman was forced to step down amid outrage about his compensation.

Hurricane-ravaged residents return to work
RICHMOND, Va. -- Four days after Hurricane Isabel barreled into the East Coast, thousands of people went back to work Monday without the benefit of home-cooked meals or hot showers, and encountered miles of blank traffic lights and downed power lines.

For The Record
The Audubon Society meets at 7 p.m. today at the St. Johns County Library, 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd. Marshall Reid, Wild Birds Unlimited; Beverly Fleming, St. Johns County Parks Department; and Roger Van Ghent, Audubon member, will present a multi-media show, "Gardening for Life," on home landscaping to provide natural habitats for wildlife.

Vaughn named Guard chief of staff
St. Augustine native Jerry A. Vaughn has been named chief of staff of the Florida Army National Guard effective Nov. 1. Vaughn is a colonel in the Guard and is presently the commander of Special Operations Detachment-Central, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa.

Police Report: Suspects arrested
The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO), St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD) and St. Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD)

Searching for Heroic Canines
After being commanded "Such!" which means search in German, Stewart zigzagged around the obstacles in the front yard, searching for objects by chasing their scent.

Attorney generals peaks to Rotarians
Florida's first Republican attorney general said at a St. Augustine Rotary Club meeting Monday that safety and security are priorities for him and his office.

Car bomb explodes near U.N. compound in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide bomber, his body wrapped in explosives and his car filled with 50 pounds of TNT, struck a police checkpoint outside U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Monday, killing an Iraqi policeman who stopped him and wounding 19 people.

Parking garage ideas sought from groups, public
Residents and businesses surrounding the downtown Visitor Information Center, frequent users of the VIC and the general public are invited to attend open houses concerning design concepts for a parking garage.

Maurice Wray Durrance
Maurice Wray Durrance, 67, died at his residence, Sept.17, 2003, after an extended illness. He was born in St. Augustine, and had been a lifelong resident of St. Johns County, living first in St. Augustine and then in Hastings.

Letter: A wealthy investment
Editor: It was encouraging to see that about 900 of Northeast Florida's wealthy citizens at least had the decency to join with their benevolent benefactor, President Bush, at Alltel Stadium for a celebratory feast of succulent oysters and shrimp. Although $2,000 each was likely a paltry portion of their new tax benefits, for example a million-a-year family would receive a benefit of $93,500, it at least demonstrates that these folks do indeed know how to invest their money wisely for excellent returns.

Letter: Good neighbors
Editor: As the parent of a high school student at FSDB I have read with great interest the recent articles in The St. Augustine Record pertaining to FSDB's efforts to build residential living facilities for its older students.

Letter: New Nigerian scam
Editor: On Sept. 10 I received the following scam e-mail: "Dear Norbert Tuseo, I am sorry for the embarrassment this email might cause you, as we have not met before. I am Barrister Baba Kabri, a solicitor at law, I am the personal attorney to Engineer Edward Tuseo, a national of your Country, who used to work with Mobil Oil Nigeria. Hereinafter shall be referred to as my client.

Growth spurt
If there were one definitive match in their careers, the Flagler College volleyball trio unanimously points to one date -- November 16, 2002.

These Chiefs are Super, even at less than their best
HOUSTON -- The Chiefs are winning their games by an average of 20 points. They're the talk of the National Football League, the sexy pick to win it all, the new-millennium version of Dick Vermeil's fast-break Rams. Sports Illustrated has had two writers tracking Priest Holmes, Ryan Sims and KC's improved defense.

Trial to begin for man accused in execution
MIAMI (AP) -- The relatives of a Chilean official killed by the "Caravan of Death" military squad during a 1973 coup in Chile are accusing a former army officer of the slaying.

Officials: Islamic chaplain investigated
WASHINGTON -- The Muslim military chaplain who ministered to suspected al-Qaida terrorists at a U.S. detention center in Cuba can be confined under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for up to two months without being charged.

Honduran man charged in Miami serial rapes
MIAMI -- A Honduran man was ordered held without bond Sunday after he was charged in a series of sexual assaults that had kept women in the Little Havana neighborhood on edge for more than a year.

Man wanted in Mass. killings found in Palatka
PALATKA (AP) -- A man who allegedly shot two teenagers to death in a 1987 gang-style slaying outside Boston was caught by sheriff's deputies in north Florida, officials said Monday.

Judge orders bumper stickers for drunken drivers
PENSACOLA (AP) -- Some motorists convicted of drunken driving are being ordered to put bumper stickers on their cars that ask "How's my driving?" followed by a toll-free telephone number and the statement "The judge wants to know!!!"

Three U.S. soldiers die in two incidents in central Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Three American soldiers died in a mortar attack and a roadside bombing west of the capital, and coalition authorities appealed to Iraqis on Sunday for information to help investigators track down those who tried to kill a prominent woman member of Iraq's Governing Council.